Here it is, your weekly list of the most intriguing games arriving in stores throughout the country.

Tuesday 9 March 2010

Final Fantasy XIII (360/PS3)

Wednesday 10 March 2010

Tony Hawk: RIDE (360/PS3/Wii)

Thursday 11 March 2010

Sakura Wars: So Long My Love (Wii)

Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter (PC)

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Chaos Rising (PC)

Yakuza 3 (PS3)

Check back with us each Sunday for an updated list.

Welcome to the Black List, our regular retrospective on the week in games.

On Monday, we told you about the fault afflicting PS3 consoles throughout the world and covered the announcement of new Mass Effect 2 DLC.

On Tuesday, covered the release of a new trailer for Sin & Punishment: Star Successor and bemoaned the game’s lack of DDR floor mat support.

On Wednesday, we saw The Scourge Project in motion for the first time.

On Thursday, we covered the turmoil at Infinity Ward and wondered how it came to this?

On Friday, we closely examined the latest Metroid: Other M trailer, but found no signs of life.

Thanks for reading.

Erin Marcon – Editor

Twitter: Follow the site at BlackPanelDaily

Facebook: Join the Black Panel Readers’ League

RECENT REVIEWS

Nintendo has issued a new promotional clip for Metroid: Other M. If you were hoping for a glimpse of Samus Aran at her lethal best, stalking through gloomy instillations and dispatching aliens with extreme prejudice, you may wish to lower your expectations. It seems our heroin now prefers a more sedate approach, spending the duration of the trailer staring pensively at the sunset.

At the beginning of the clip, the words “not actual gameplay” are superimposed over the bounty hunter’s face. This will certainly disappoint those of you anticipating a game in which absolutely nothing happens.

Trailer notwithstanding, Metroid: Other M looks to be just as action oriented as previous instalments in the series. In a departure from Retro’s well received Metroid Prime Model, the new game offers a blend of first and third person combat.

In its wisdom, Nintendo has outsourced its premier heroin to Tecmo’s Team Ninja. I think you’ll agree that the studio responsible for the ultra voyeuristic Dead or Alive: Paradise is ideally suited to tackle one of the few strong female protagonists in gaming. As Yasuo Egawa once told Edge, “We’re Tecmo – we’re good at female characters.”

The Wii exclusive Metroid: Other M is due for release in 2010.

Activision’s new policy on personal grooming spelt the end of West and Zampella.

Two of the key figures behind Infinity Ward’s world conquering Call of Duty franchise have been shown the door. Parent company Activision has revealed that Infinity Ward’s Jason West and Vince Zampella, studio President and Chief Executive Officer respectively, are no longer employed by the publisher. The announcement confirms aspects of the explosive story published by G4.

Earlier this week, Activision lodged an Annual Report with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, citing ‘breaches of contract and insubordination” on the part of “two senior employees at Infinity Ward”. West and Zampella have since announced a lawsuit against their former employer on a range of grounds, including wrongful termination and breach of contract.

The growing tension between publisher and developer spilled into the public arena some time ago. As Kotaku reported in November 2008, Infinity Ward’s Community Manager Robert Bowling publically ridiculed Activision Senior Producer Noah Heller. Heller’s alleged crime was name-dropping the Infinity Ward developed Call of Duty 4 while promoting a spin-off produced by Treyarch.

Almost immediately after the departure of West and Zampella, Activision announced two new Call of Duty titles, one a traditional first person shooter, the other a third-person action game. Series veterans Treyarch will create the first game, while newly formed Activision studio Sledgehammer Games will be responsible for the second. According to an Activision memo leaked to Kotaku, Infinity Ward also “remains central to Call of Duty’s future”.

The question is, just how many Call of Duty titles will Activision manage to squeeze out before they smother their golden goose?

More on this story as it develops.